Research methods and techniques in Spanish library and information science journals (2012-2014)

This study examines the research methods and techniques used in Spanish journals of library and information science, the topics addressed by papers in these journals and their authorship affiliation. The researchers selected 580 papers published in the top seven Spanish LIS journals indexed in Web o...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Ferran, Nuria, Guallar, Javier, Abadal, Ernest, Server Sastre, Adán
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2017
País:España
Institución:Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC)
Repositorio:O2, repositorio institucional de la UOC
OAI Identifier:oai:openaccess.uoc.edu:10609/70642
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10609/70642
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:scientific journals
library science
information science
research methods
revistes científiques
biblioteconomia
ciències de la informació
mètodes de recerca
revistas científicas
biblioteconomía
ciencias de la información
métodos de investigación
Library science -- Research
Biblioteconomia -- Investigació
Biblioteconomía -- Investigación
Descripción
Sumario:This study examines the research methods and techniques used in Spanish journals of library and information science, the topics addressed by papers in these journals and their authorship affiliation. The researchers selected 580 papers published in the top seven Spanish LIS journals indexed in Web of Science and Scopus and conducted a content analysis of 394 of these papers. In each case, the analysis considered: (1) type of paper (research/non-research); (2) authorship (country, sex, number of authors, academic versus professional profile); and (3) the research methods and techniques used and the topic addressed. Sixty-eight per cent of the papers were identified as research papers. These papers used either a quantitative or qualitative approach to the topic and both were well represented, although rarely combined in the same paper (9.6%). The most frequently addressed topics were information sources, metric studies and technologies. Most of the authors were Spanish (78%). Forty-two per cent of the papers had just one author. In terms of the volume of publication and the research methods and techniques most commonly used, library and information science research in Spain does not generally lag behind research in the international sphere. However, there is still room for improvement in experimental research, of which there is very little, and in the internationalisation of authorship.